Fairline 43 Owners

[Ahoy there]

I would be very grateful to hear from any 2019 Fairline 43 Open owners, either in the UK or abroad. We have experienced many issues which we are having extreme difficulty in getting resolved - are we alone in this? Many thanks

 

[Portofino]

Sorry to hear about the woes on your presumed new boat
What sort of issues ?
Might be worth further details .....some might be generic ie Volvo engine control problems others FL .
There’s a lot of loyal FL guys on here and a few VP experts .

FL started a little while back building boats on two sites Hythe and Oundle , recently laying off 150 in H ,and moving blokes about between the two sites .They have stopped crafting boats @H and now focus on O. So perhaps in the melee of sending blokes up and down the QA has dipped ?

A problem shared is a problem 1/2 d

 

[Ahoy there]

Thanks for your reply. Our issues are sadly many, but our main concern is ingression of water into the midships cabin. The widow ledge, cabinet & carpet are all soaked after rain yet there is no obvious sign of where the water is coming in. Wondering if anyone else has this issue?

 

[petem]

Where are you based?

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I have no direct experience of the 43 Open but rainwater leaks usually come from two sources, either a deck fitting (eg handrail stanchion, cleat) or a window frame, in both cases due to poor sealing. Unfortunately, the source of the leak is often not directly above where it manifests itself in the accommodation and some of the roof panels may have to be removed to trace the path of the water so it may not be an easy problem to rectify. Either way this is an unacceptable problem on a new boat and your dealer should be acting very swiftly to rectify it, not least because the more water that gets into the boat, the more of the internal furnishings will get irreparably damaged. By the sound of it, your dealer is not acting as promptly or efficiently as you would like?

 

[Portofino]

Appears to have a large glass / acrylic side window ...bonded in .
Something that long will add to the structural integrity in theory.
1 - How ever if the hull part is flexing too much then the seal compound may fail and let rain water in .
It’s either failed glass to compound or hull to compound.

2 -Another explanation could be the HT runner drains detached .
There should be some drains in the four corners marked in yellow to either a outside drain or internal sump like a shower pump box ? Or worse still the bulge ?The yellow dots are water escaping after a rain fall on the side boat pic .

3 - delamination of the HT glass seal ( flexing ) and water running down to the cabin below after flooding the cabin ceiling to the end .



Blue is the flex .Red delamination points .Yellow drains ? Dot yellow water escaped.




Red leaky glass at the corners .





Cockpit roof drains ? Are they connected ? Are there any ?

 

[Portofino]

There’s a mullion on the headboard side but not on the sofa side ?
So which side presuming the bigger area sofa side .......more likely to flex and bust its seal .

What remedial work if any has been attempted?

 

[volvopaul]

I would be very grateful to hear from any 2019 Fairline 43 Open owners, either in the UK or abroad. We have experienced many issues which we are having extreme difficulty in getting resolved - are we alone in this? Many thanks

There are obviously faults in the build , this is solely down to the builder Fairline and no one else , if I’d have paid that kind of money for a boat that leaks water in I’d be sending the builder a letter from your solicitors .
My view of other people have had issues is at this stage irrelevant to your case .

I would be Sending a letter with photos of the problem by registered post to the MD of Fairline , I would also involve the supplying dealer as they have a duty of care towards you over this .
If the bonded windows are leaking then it’s possibly the hull sides flexing which is clearly a design fault , the boat isn’t fit for purpose .
You will need to be very firm on this to get the action you require which to me is your money back, not a great advert for one of the UK oldest builders .

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

If the bonded windows are leaking then it’s possibly the hull sides flexing which is clearly a design fault , the boat isn’t fit for purpose .
You will need to be very firm on this to get the action you require which to me is your money back, not a great advert for one of the UK oldest builders .

Far too early to say that IMHO and in any case, the hull windows being vertical, I doubt much rainwater can get in via those windows anyway. If I was going to put a bet on it, I'd say the windscreen bonding or sealing might be one source of the water or failing that, a deck fitting

 

[petem]

If the bonded windows are leaking then it’s possibly the hull sides flexing which is clearly a design fault , the boat isn’t fit for purpose .
You will need to be very firm on this to get the action you require which to me is your money back, not a great advert for one of the UK oldest builders .

Blimey Paul, we have absolutely no idea what is causing this. As others have said, could be something as minor as a blocked drain or a some crappy / damaged windscreen sealant in which case rejecting the thing would be totally OTT.

The OP needs to tell us where he is based and what has been done to date to solve the issue.

Regarding other owners, if others have experienced this issue and found a fix then it could save a lot of time and trouble as leaks can sometimes be hard to trace without dismantling half the boat.

 

[Portofino]

Are we sure it’s rain From the outside ?
The cockpit sink and fridge / ice maker plumbing needs checking through .
Also condensation from poorly ventilated fridge / ice maker .
The wires that supply the power and switches do they have grommets ? How do the fit relative to the lowest points under that unit ?



Also are there any push fits in the plumbing in the vicinity of the saturated furniture ? Or under those ceiling panels .The ceiling panels look to fit transverse so could act as gutter moving a leaky fittings water to one side .Then it runs down .
Is the wetness associated with the resting list in the berth , same side ?
Thinking it’s internal ......all theses simple explanations need proving out .

We don’t know what’s been proved out or what investigations have taken place .

 

[MapisM]

Are we sure it’s rain From the outside ?

Allegedly, "The widow ledge, cabinet & carpet are all soaked after rain".
That's a good hint, I reckon...

 

[Portofino]

Allegedly, "The widow ledge, cabinet & carpet are all soaked after rain".
That's a good hint, I reckon...

See last line .....

“We don’t know what’s been proved out or what investigations have taken place .”

Shame to get all legal and social media over weepy push fit or something ?

You need to climb a diagnostic tree from the bottom up .Starting with the most common and follow a process of elimination.

First line “ Are you sure .... “

Bit short of detail to home in .

 

[MapisM]

You need to climb a diagnostic tree from the bottom up

Yeah, that sounds familiar to most forumites, I reckon.
The point is, I don't think I'd be a happy bunny if I should need that right after having forked out the price of a brand new boat...
Considering also the by now soaked interiors, rejecting the thing does sound a sensible proposition, regardless of the diagnostic tree.
In this respect, I'm with volvopaul.

Assuming that the OP is genuine, that is.
It would neither be the first nor the last time someone opens a forum account just to post a complain like this due to some axe to grind.
Not saying this is the case - just that we don't know.

 

[jfm]

There are obviously faults in the build , this is solely down to the builder Fairline and no one else , if I’d have paid that kind of money for a boat that leaks water in I’d be sending the builder a letter from your solicitors .
My view of other people have had issues is at this stage irrelevant to your case .

I would be Sending a letter with photos of the problem by registered post to the MD of Fairline , I would also involve the supplying dealer as they have a duty of care towards you over this .
If the bonded windows are leaking then it’s possibly the hull sides flexing which is clearly a design fault , the boat isn’t fit for purpose .
You will need to be very firm on this to get the action you require which to me is your money back, not a great advert for one of the UK oldest builders .

Yeah, that sounds familiar to most forumites, I reckon.
The point is, I don't think I'd be a happy bunny if I should need that right after having forked out the price of a brand new boat...
Considering also the by now soaked interiors, rejecting the thing does sound a sensible proposition, regardless of the diagnostic tree.
In this respect, I'm with volvopaul.

Paul, the substance of what you're proposing is a rejection of the boat. Mapism, you're suggesting rejection categorically.

The facts/details are striking by their absence but I urge OP not to reject the boat until he understands and is happy with the consequences. In UK law (I have no idea whether this is a UK case...) you lose ownership by operation of law upon rejection, so you become an unsecured creditor of the (usually thinly capitalised) dealership company, in this case to the tune of say £600k. If you have borrowed to buy the boat you'll usually be in breach of the loan agreement and even if you're not the finance company will want repaying immediately. Good luck with all that.

Whereas if you don't reject you are the owner of a boat that needs what sounds like a small repair.

I strongly advise against rejecting the boat, as a general rule. People who don't understand the legal consequences should hold fire before advising folk to invoke the legal process of rejection - it is generally very bad advice in a case like this.

Incidentally, the legal concept of "duty of care" has no relevance in this case either. That shows a complete misunderstanding of the law.

 

[MapisM]

you lose ownership by operation of law upon rejection

Doesn't the ownership reversal get perfected only after (and subject to) the full refund?
If you say that this isn't the case in UK law I take your word for it, of course.
But I'm at a loss in understanding the rationale behind that.

 

[jfm]

It’s as I wrote. The very act of (valid) rejection triggers an ending of the customer’s ownership. The customer then owns only a claim for money. This is under UK law; I’m not commenting on other countries. It’s s.20(4)&(7) consumer rights act 2015, for any geeks out there.

 

[Assassin]

I would disagree Jfm as sale of goods act means going back to the manufacturer/seller and giving them the opportunity of identifying the problem and the opportunity of rectifying the problem and under this rejection doesn't arise.

I would agree that much more detail is needed though as we could all be sailing into the wind.

One thing I would suggest doing is identifying the leak and its track and this can be done by mixing water based drain stain in water and spraying suspected areas with it, get a bright and contrasting colour and mix and spray, this will give you the track of the water and where its source is and which route it takes, and you can photograph it for evidence (if needed) as you may find you have more than one source of leakage. Drain stain is currently around £7 per tub and it goes a very long way.

 

[jrudge]

A few things ....

Fairline in my experience don’t ( as reported to me by my dealer ) support the dealers that well either technically or financially relating to warranty for “normal “ things.

The factory got involved a few times mostly at my instigation when there was a real issue ( no dc electrics in the whole boat due to Eplex system meltdown )

I would suspect if one did reject it would be to the dealer with who you have a contract, not fairline themselves as you have no contract with them.

I was not aware of jfm point but the issue I suspect is you either reject and give it back as a sign of that rejection of you don’t. There is no half way house if I will deject when you give me my money back.

There are many posts here and indeed photos when the op posted a few lines that have not been followed up.

The dealer should take issues seriously and rectify but we don’t really know anything about those issues at present which may simply be a few days work.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Fairline in my experience don’t ( as reported to me by my dealer ) support the dealers that well either technically or financially relating to warranty for “normal “ things.

To be fair I dont think Fairline are ususual in that respect. One of the many reasons that manufacturers work through an independent dealer network (rather than wholly owned sales subsidiaries) is to distance themselves contractually from customers and avoid direct relationships with them. It is the dealer's responsibility to carry out warranty work and to communicate effectively with customers and if customers are bypassing a dealer to try to speak to the factory directly, then Fairline should be asking themselves whether they have the right dealer. Thats not to say that the factory shouldnt become involved with warranty issues but it should be at the dealer's instigation, not the customer's.

I think jfm makes a very good point about losing title to the boat if it is rejected and neither was I aware of that either and, of course, it does seem logical. IMHO rejection should be the very last resort after all other courses of action have failed anyway

I do remember many years ago, a disgruntled Fairline customer picketing the Fairline stand at SIBS with a billboard detailing his issues with his boat. IIRC he had problems with the Volvo engines in his new boat and not unusually, Volvo blamed Fairline, Fairline blamed Volvo and both the customer and dealer were stuck in the middle. I believe that Fairline sorted the problems pretty quickly when that happened